Rival's Revived Toys No Threat, Lego Says

September 21, 1996|By DEEDEE SEGEL; Courant Staff Writer

After a six-year hiatus, Construx construction toys are back. But Lego isn't going to pieces over renewed competition.

Officials of Enfield-based Lego Systems Inc. said this week they are not worried that Mattel's reintroduction of Construx will shake the foundation of Lego, as happened in the mid- 1980s. Lego is the nation's leading seller of building blocks.

``Certainly some people will make a first purchase in 1996 because they are spending a lot of money on advertising,'' Robert Ellis, Lego's vice president of brand marketing, said of Mattel. ``But we're not overly concerned.''

Fisher-Price introduced Construx in 1983, and manufactured it through 1989.

It was not available again until this summer, when Mattel Inc. -- which bought Fisher-Price in 1993 -- launched eight new Construx products.

The trial line includes two builder sets, which contain hundreds of parts for building a wide variety of toys, from robots and dinosaurs to deep-sea submarines and electric guitars.

Six individual sets allow children to build items based on a certain theme. With the Rugged Racers set, for example, they can build a formula race car, a three- wheel all-terrain vehicle or other vehicles using the activated steering command, racing tires and detailed engine panels.

When Construx was manufactured by Fisher-Price, it had a highly successful six-year run and helped other construction toy imitators to chip away at Lego sales gains.

But in the end, it was Construx's sales that eventually tumbled.

``It had been in the line for six years, and we felt that, as a product category, it had reached its height, it was on a downward trend, and we decided to discontinue it,'' said Laurie Strong, a Fisher-Price spokeswoman.

Ellis said a number of Lego customers tried out the new product, but it couldn't generate repeat purchases.

Mattel spokeswoman Sara Rosales also said Fisher-Price may not have marketed Construx the best way it could. The company was known for its preschool products, she said, but Construx toys were more appealing to older children. Parents were confused.

With Mattel producing the toy for children ages 8 and older -- under its own brand -- confusion should not be an issue, she said. Neither should competition from Lego.

``We feel this product is different from Lego because kids can build something with it, and really play with it,'' she said of Construx. ``The playability is the major factor.''

Ellis said Lego is not concerned, either. There is more competition today in which Construx will go head to head.

``Their product will more likely be competing with K'NEX and Erector [Meccano] and probably fight for all other market share in that segment of the non-brick construction toy market,'' he said.

At the same time, Ellis said Lego has even stronger products and marketing programs than it did a decade ago. Its Wild West and Time Cruisers lines, launched in August, have already seen strong sales. And the Exploriens line, released in January, and Aqua Zone, which came out last year, continue to do well.

Not only have Lego's weekly sales been strong, he said, but the privately held company also expects a 10 percent to 15 percent year-end increase.

David S. Leibowitz, a managing director with Burnham Securities in New York, said there is always some question about whether the new competition will cannibalize the sales of the existing market share leader.

But he believes there is a need for a solid No. 2 player in the construction toy market, and that it will likely have more of a positive effect on Lego than a negative one.

Marisa Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Toy Manufacturers of America in New York, agreed that there is plenty of room for a new construction toy.